Carwash: A Short Story

Excuse me, ma’am. Excuse me!” a customer calls out, snatching me from the daze I’d drifted into. “Is it okay if I go through the wash again? My car’s still dirty and there’s some type of film on my windows. Do you see this?” she asks. Without even a glance at her car, I respond, “Of course,” and guide her vehicle onto the track for a second time. A customer asking for a rewash is such a common occurrence that my coworkers and I don’t even think twice about giving them out. Moreover, it’s still early in my shift and the last thing I want to do is deal with an irate customer. So I send her through the wash and carry out my previous task at hand--scrolling through my twitter feed. The day is panning out as usual: I service
Frustrated and slightly annoyed, I finally decide to call the manager, Matt. “Eh—well, uhh… I’m in a meeting right now…” he says. “…so I won’t be able to get there right away. But you and Marquise are pretty knowledgeable of the carwash! Figure something out until I get there.” And the line goes dead. Figure something out? How in the hell does he expect us to just figure something out? We were hired as cashiers and service attendants, NOT mechanics and electricians.
After a long and unsuccessful round of troubleshooting, we are beyond frustrated. Just as I begin to question whether I truly need this job or not, my relief, Payton, walks in. “Maaaan, today has been a day from hell.” I say. “There’s this weird residue being left on all the cars and we can’t figure out what it is. Cars are leaving worse off than they were before they came. The customers are pissed. I’m pissed. And I’m ready to go home.” “Speaking of Matt,” Payton says after chuckling. “Y’all won't believe what this dude did last night!” Expecting it to be something dumb, I thoughtlessly respond, “What?” and proceed to clock out. “This fool somehow managed to spill an entire barrel of tire shine oil at the end of the wash bay. A WHOLE